Jul 27,2007 00:00 by
UPI MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A demonstration Thursday in the Somali capital of Mogadishu protested an alleged rape by government soldiers in a refugee camp.

The protest was organized by families of the victims, Shabelle Media Network reported.

"They were several men armed with AK-47 guns and they said they were searching for insurgents and they began beating me until I went out conscious and then went for the women in the camp, raping them," said Aden Osman, whose wife was one of the five women attacked.

Osman told the Shabelle Media Network that one of the victims was 15 years old. He said that soldiers beat all the men.

In another anti-government protest, several hundred shop keepers and small business owners took to the streets Wednesday, the Shabelle Media Network said. They demanded the release of a business owner arrested by Somali troops.